Please note that all PDF documents are marked as such and will open in a new browser window.

2000 - Present

2000:

11 July, U.S.-mediated negotiations betweenIsrael and the PLO commence at Camp David (so-called Camp David II) in order to reach a framework agreement on the final status issues; after two weeks the summit concludes with no agreement reached.

7 October, the Security Council adopts resolution 1322 (2000), with 14 votes in favor and 1 abstention. The resolution deplored the provocation at Haram al-Sharif on 28 September.

9 November, President Yasser Arafat addresses the Security Council to appeal to the international community to send a protection force to theOccupied Palestinian Territory in face of increased Israeli violations and grave breaches of international law against the Palestinian population.

28 December, 315 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since 28 September 2000.

21 January, Talks between the Israeli and Palestinian side commence inTaba, Egypt , the two sides made good progress on many issues that had been left unresolved at the Camp David summit six months earlier.

23 March, Israeli authorities approved the building of almost 3,000 more units in the illegal Jewish settlement of Jabal Abu Ghneim to the south of Occupied East Jerusalem.

17 April, Israeli occupying forces for the first time re-enter territory in the Gaza Strip ceded to the PA under the 1993Oslo peace accords.

6 May, The United States criticized Israeli incursions into Palestinian-administered territory as “a serious escalation” that complicates peace efforts.

6 May, In the interest of “security,”Israel initiates the first steps of unilateral separation to divide the West Bank into eight districts. Roadblocks and closures prevent movement between these districts.

14 May, Israeli occupying forces executed 5 Palestinian policemen who were at a Palestinian checkpoint in the town of Beittunia , West of Ramallah.

13 June, CIA chief George Tenet brought together senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials to begin implementing a U.S.-brokered truce known as the "Tenant Plan" which aimed at reaffirming the commitments the two sides accepted in Sharm el Sheik in 2000.

24 June, President George Bush announces his vision of “two states, living side by side in peace and security.” And goes on to state, “this means that the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 will be ended through a settlement negotiated between the parties, based on U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, with Israeli withdrawal to secure and recognize borders.

7 August, Yasser Arafat calls on theUS “to move expeditiously to persuade Israel and Mr. Ariel Sharon to stop the killing, the assassination of community leaders and to stop illegal practices, such as the demolition of houses and the economic state of siege.”

10 August, Israeli F-16 fighter jets fire four air-to-surface missiles at the police headquarters in the At-Tireh suburb of Ramallah, destroying it completely.

13 August, Scores of Israeli occupying forces raided and closed down the Orient House along with nine other buildings belonging to Palestinian institutions in and around Occupied East Jerusalem in violation of the agreement signed between the parties.

26 August, Israeli F-16 and F-15 war planes attack the Palestinian police headquarters inGaza City . Israeli war planes also attack the Palestinian Military Intelligence Service in Deir Al-Balah and the police headquarters in Salfit.

6 September, UN Special Envoy Terje Roed Larsen claims that the Israeli closure had a “disastrous effect” on the Palestinian economy, saying that half the Palestinian population would live in poverty by the end of 2001.

7 September, A Belgian court investigates the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres which Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is being claimed to have been responsible for the responsibility of deaths, crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, the suit was filed by 23 survivors of the massacres and five eyewitnesses.

19 October, Israeli occupying forces sent approximately 30 tanks and armored personnel carriers into the neighboring cities ofBethlehem and Beit Jala, reoccupying parts of the cities and seizing several buildings, including two hotels.

10 September, Israeli forces place a number of new caravans on Palestinian land south and east of ‘Kfar Darom’ settlement, established on confiscated Palestinian land in Deir Al-Balah,Gaza.

27 September, The US asksIsrael to cease demolishing Palestinian homes, end incursions into Palestinian territory and refrain from provocative acts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that escalate tension.

29 September, The first year of the Palestinian Intifada passes. Since 28 September 2000, 661 Palestinians have been killed, and over 10,000 injured, while 384 Palestinian homes were demolished and 5103.7 acres of agricultural land destroyed.

16 October, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he will accept an independent Palestinian State if certain conditions are met, of those conditions, Yasser Arafat must be out of power.

31 October, Ma’ariv reports on a peace proposal by Shimon Peres that recommends the creation of a Palestinian state:Israel would withdraw from Gaza , dismantle all settlements, and each side would manage its own holy sites, while the overall question of Jerusalem would be postponed. Joint security teams would be created and an international committee (UN, EU, US and Russia) would tackle the problem of Palestinian refugees and the payment of compensation.

31 October, US State Dept. spokesman Richard Boucher renews theUS demand that Israel withdraw its forces from all PA-administered areas on the West Bank.

10 November, President George W. Bush referred to “two states—Israel and Palestine ” in his speech to the UN General Assembly. This is the first time an American president has used the word Palestine . US Secretary of State Powell says that Bush’s use of “ Palestine ” is deliberate and reflected his policy.

19 November, U.S. Secretary of State Powell states thatIsrael must end its occupation and “accept a viable Palestinian State in which Palestinians can determine their own future on their own land and live in dignity and security.”

23 November, The UN Committee Against Torture states that the Israeli governments house demolition and closure policies “may, in certain instances, amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” in violation of Article 16 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

13 December, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon severs all ties with President Arafat as tanks fire their cannons and bulldozers crash into President Arafat’s compound (al-Muqata) in Ramallah.

16 December, U.S. Middle East Envoy Anthony Zinni returned toWashington from an aborted ceasefire mission.

21 December, 832 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since 28 September 2000.

26 December, On Christmas Eve,Israel , the occupying Power, used military measures to obstruct the attendance by the President of the Palestinian Authority of religious observances in Bethlehem .

2002 :

10 January, Israeli occupying forces attack and destroys the Palestinian airport inGaza and demolishes 73 homes in residential areas, leaving 120 families and over 500 people homeless. In addition, water, telephone, and electricity networks are destroyed and the main road between Rafah and Khan Younis is cut into two.

25 January, In a newspaper ad, 52 Israeli reserve soldiers announce they would no longer serve in theWest Bank and Gaza Strip, saying “We will not continue to fight on the other side of the Green Line with intent to control, expel, starve and degrade an entire people.” They also condemn the closure of Palestinian cities and towns.

31 January, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon tells Ma’ariv he regrets not having “eliminated” President Arafat inBeirut during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

31 January, Foreign Minister Peres and Palestine Legislative Council Speaker Qurei meet inNew York to continue discussions on their plan to end the Intifada and move to political negotiations.

31 January, During a meeting between representatives of the UN, the EU and US Middle East envoy William Burns, in Washington, the French government presents its new Mideast peace plan, which involves two “inseparable issues:” the recognition of an independent Palestinian state and new elections in Palestine that focus on the issue of peace.

20 February, In an overnight reprisal raid,Israel launches massive attacks throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory , killing at least 14 Palestinians, including four guards at the Palestinian Authority’s presidential compound in Gaza and seven security forces manning a roadblock near Nablus . In Gaza, President Arafat’s headquarters is targeted for the first time.

26 February, There is growing interest in a peace proposal fromSaudi Arabia ’s Crown Prince Abdullah, which offers recognition, trade, and security to Israel in return for giving up the Gaza Stip, the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan . Prompting the Arab Peace Initiative which is based on relevant United Nations resolutions such as 194, 242, and 338.

26 February, Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat endorses the Saudi peace plan, which is also welcomed by several Arab states,US Secretary of State Powell, the European Union and Israeli Foreign Minister Peres.

6 March, In an overnight incursion intoGaza seven Palestinians are killed, several others injured and arrested. Two members of the Israeli occupying forces are also killed. Near Khan Younis four Palestinian homes are demolished. In Gaza City the home of President Yasser Arafat as well as a United Nations school for the blind was also demolished.

6 March, Israeli right-wing Minister of Infrastructure, Avigdor Lieberman, urges Prime Minister Sharon to order the occupying forces to begin a systematic bombing of Palestinian population centers saying, as quoted in Yediot Ahranot, “At 8 o’clock, we bomb all commercial centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At 12 o’clock, we bomb all fuel stations. And at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we bomb all the banks”.

7 March, The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupying forces since the beginning of its bloody military campaign launched against the Palestinian people on 28 September 2000 has now surpassed 1,000 victims. These martyrs include Palestinian children, women and men. This tragic figure, however, does not include many other Palestinians who have died as a result of the practices and measures of the Israeli occupation, including those who have died at checkpoints after being prevented from reaching hospitals.

12 March, 20,000 Israeli occupying forces invade refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and re-enter the West Bank town ofRamallah. At least 31 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more ordered out of their homes.

12 March, Fourteen of the fifteen security council members approve U.S.-backed UN resolution 1397 endorsing the vision of the two-state solution ofPalestine and Israel, living side by side within secure and recognized borders.

14 March, U.S. Envoy Anthony Zinni arrives inIsrael in an effort to restart the peace process after a week of unprecedented violence.

14 March, Construction of Israel’s illegal Wall begins. The wall’s route is set to divide Palestinian cities and veer from the 1949 armistice line (Green Line) into the Occupied West Bank in contravention of International Law.

27-28 March, While President Arafat is held hostage in his headquarters by Israeli occupying forces, the Arab summit takes place inBeirut. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah reiterates his proposal of “normal relations” with Israel for recognition of a Palestinian state and the refugees’ right to return. Arab states approve final draft of Saudi peace initiative.

30 March, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls uponIsrael to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territory to positions held before 28 September 2000 and not to harm President Arafat.

On 30 March, The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting over the Mideast situation behind closed doors and passes Resolution 1402 calling for Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities with 14:0, withSyria, who was a non-permanent member of the Security Council at that time, not participating in vote.

3 April, The West Bank town ofBeit Sahour is fully occupied by Israeli occupying forces who also take over the Bethlehem municipality and continue their siege on the Nativity Church where some 150 people took refuge. The towns of Jenin and Salfit are also invaded.

4 April,US President Bush says he intends to send Secretary of State Powell to the region and reiterates that the root cause of the conflict is Israel ’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. He calls on Israel to stop all settlement activity in line with the Mitchell recommendations and international law, to halt incursions into Palestinian areas and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1402. The move comes after intense pressure on the US to intervene by Arab states.

4 April, A UN Security Council meeting votes unanimously to adopt Resolution 1403, endorsing theMideast mission of US Secretary of State Powell and demanding the implementation of Resolution 1402 and an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities “without delay.”

6 April, In the last 24 hours over 35 Palestinians were killed, 15 in Nablus, at least 10 in Jenin, where troops invade the refugee camp in an operation overseen personally by Israeli chief of staff Mofaz and tear down dozens of homes. The death toll since 28/29 March is estimated to have reached at least 124.

18 April, After touring Jenin refugee camp, UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen calls the scene “horrifying beyond belief,” saying it is a “blot that will forever live on the history of the state of Israel” and demands “immediate access” by international hu­manitarian agencies. The Israeli government decides to consider Larsen a persona non grata due to his report of events in Jenin.

18 April, In Nablus, the bodies of over 70 Palestinians, including children and women, killed during the Israeli incursion, are buried in a mass grave during a lift of the curfew, because of Israel's refusal to allow proper burial for the dead.

19 April, The United Nations Security Council unanimously decides in Resolution 1405 to send a delegation toIsrael “to develop accurate informa­tion regarding recent events in the Jenin refugee camp through a fact-finding team” and demands that Israel allow free access for humanitarian and medical organizations. Resolution 1405 also calls for the implementation of three previous resolutions, 1397, 1402 and 1403, calling for a cease-fire and Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank .

20 April, US Middle East envoy William Burns tours the ruins of Jenin refugee camp, saying “I just think what we are seeing here is a terrible human tragedy.”

22 April, At a press briefing in New York, UN Secretary -General Kofi Annan announces that the UN fact-finding mission into the events in Jenin refugee camp will be headed by former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and comprise of former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees chief Sadako Ogata, former International Committee of the Red Cross President Cornelio Sommaruga, US General Bill Nash as Military Advisor and Thomas Peter Fitzgerald of Ireland as Police Advisor. Foreign Minister Peres asks for and receives from Annan assurances that the commission’s findings will not have any legal standing.

22 April, Inside the Presidential compound the trial against the four suspects accused of killing Israeli Tourism Min. Ze’evi begins, presided over by three judges and with one lawyer representing the accused.

23 April,Israel decides to “postpone” its agreement to cooperate with the UN fact-finding mission because its “was done without our consultation or agreement.”

25 April, A Palestinian Authority military court hands down sentences to the four alleged Ze’evi killers.

28 April, After accepting the terms of a US-brokered deal to end the siege of his Ramallah compound, Arafat is said to be free to leave Ramallah. Under the plan Israeli occupying forces will leave the area in exchange for a US-British guarantee of continued imprisonment of the four Ze’evi killers, PFLP head Ahmed Sa’adat, and the Karine A paymaster Fuad Shubaki in a Palestinian jail - guarded by US and British jailers.Israel ’s cabinet votes with 17-9 in favor of the proposal.

1 May, Pope John Paul dispatches Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President of theVatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to Israel on peace-seeking mission to help resolve the Church of the Nativity standoff.

1 May, Israeli occupying forces begin to pull back from Ramallah after the Palestinian Authority handed over six prisioners to US andUK officials who will supervise their sentences in a Jericho prison.

7 May, An emergency United Nation General Assembly session votes with 74:4 and 54 abstaining on a draft resolution to condemn Israel for its assault on Palestinian cities and for not cooperating with the UN fact-finding mission into the actions in the Jenin refugee camp.

10 May, A deal to end the 38-day standoff at theNativity Church is reached.

11 May, The Israeli government retroactively approves Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s 1 April freeze on all family reunifications be­tween Israeli Arabs and Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to prevent the latter from gaining Israeli citizenship.

12 May, Prime Minister Sharon suffers a political setback at the hands of his rival Benjamin Netanyahu, when the Likud Central Committee adopts a resolution completely rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state.

14 May, The World Bank presents interim findings of its review of damages to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions caused by Operation Defensive Shield, estimating the damage at over $360 million, the largest portion of which being inNablus. Damage to civilian housing is listed at about $66 million.

15 May, As Palestinians mark al-Naqba day, Palestinian Authority President Arafat addresses the PLC in Ramallah. He calls for “reconstruction,” and the “speedy preparation” for Palestinian elections. President Arafat signs the Law on theIndependence of the Judiciary that was passed by the PLC over two years ago, pending Arafat’s signing it into legislation.

15 May, At the Labor Party Central Committee meeting at Kibbutz Shfayim, Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer presents his two-state solution plan, which has three components: a war on terror, “security separation” and a final-status agreement with a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, evacuation of settlements, a division of Jerusalem, with the Palestinians receiving East Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods and a special international regime, involving the UN Security Council and Islamic countries, supervising the holy sites of the Old City, over which neither Israel nor the Palestinians would have sovereignty.

16 May, The PLC decides to hold presidential elections early in 2003, general and local elections within one year, to name a new cabinet within 45 days, and to limit the tenure of the heads of security apparatuses to four years.

20 May, Peace Now reports that the Israeli government tenders have been issued for the construction of 957 housing units inWest Bank settlements.

20 May, Israeli Defense Minister Ben Eliezer orders that a 364-km fence with cameras and electronic detection devices along the Green Line be completed within half a year.

20 May, The Israeli occupying forces began to demand Palestinians to acquire special Israeli permits for the movement of persons and goods among Palestinian cities. This is an extremely dangerous development that further destroys the Palestinian national presence and whatever is left of the agreements between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.

21 May, The UN World Food Program estimates that about 50% ofWest Bank residents live below the poverty line.

3 June, During a cabinet meeting, President Arafat announces former Palestine Liberation Army commander General Abdel Razeq Yahya as overall head of the security forces.

9 June, At a press conference in Ramallah, Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbou announces the reduced 21-member PA interim cabinet (from 31), which has five new members and will also prepare for municipal and presidential elections

15 June, Salam Fayyad is appointed Finance Minister under the interim Fateh government.

25 June, Israeli occupying forces invadeHebron and take over the Palestinian Authority headquarters. Four Palestinian Palestinian policemen are killed in the raid and some 150 Palestinians are arrested. Now all West Bank cities, except Jericho, are under 24-hour curfew.

25 June, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan rejects President Bush’s call to oust President Arafat, saying the Palestinians must elect their own leaders, and that the timing for new elections is “not optimal.”

26 June, The Palestinian Authority publishes a 100-day plan for reforms, including elections, placing security and police forces under the Interior Minister, economic reforms with a single transparent treasury account, separation of powers, implementing the Basic Law, and establishing law and order.

27 June, Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer publishes his diplomatic plan on the front page of Al-Quds, calling for a peace agreement based on UN Resolutions 338, 242, and 1397, evacuating all settlements inGaza and isolated ones in the West Bank, and settling Palestinian refugees in a Palestinian state which would include East Jerusalem.

27 June, The G8 leaders from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US issue a statement outlining a “vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders.”

29 June, The Israeli occupying forces blows up the municipal and security headquarters inHebron, ending a four-day siege and leaving behind enormous damage. Paramedics and rescue workers are banned from entering the compound.

2 July, In London, Assistant US Secretary of State for the Near East William Burns begins consultations with officials from the "Quartet on the Middle east” -Russia , the EU and the UN - about US Middle East policy after President Bush’s speech and about mechanisms to provide aid to the Palestinians and help them implement reforms. Burns states that the US ’s decision to cut off all contact with Chairman Yasser Arafat since January 2002 is final.

The Quartet was created in Madrid in 2002, by Spanish Prime Minister Aznar.

16 July, The Quartet meets in New York to discuss a plan of action to end Israel’s occupation and achieve the vision of two states within three years, but fail to agree on the future of Chairman Arafat with the UN, EU and Russia insisting that he legitimately heads his people’s statehood movement.

21 July, Palestinian-Israeli talks resume inJerusalem as a Palestinian delegation headed by Saeb Erekat and including Abdel Razeq Yahya, Maher Al-Masri, Jamil Tarifi and Salam Fayyad meets with an Israeli team, headed by Foreign Minister Peres and Minister Danny Naveh, Finance Minister Director.-General. Ohad Marni, and Coordinator of Activities in the territories General Amos Gilad. The Palestinians call for an end to the occupation and siege, saying Palestinian Authority forces can gradually take over Israeli occupation forces positions.

23 July, Israeli F-16 warplanes attack and destroy a four-story building in the Al-Yarmouk neighborhood of Gaza City, killing Sheikh Salah Shehadeh, 49, his wife and one of his children and at least 14 other civilians, incl. 10 children aged two months to 11 years. Over 150 people are injured, many of them women and children. Nearby buildings also suffer damage.

25 July, The United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting to discuss the Israeli air strike onGaza that killed 17 Palestinians and the international outcry at the targeting of a civilian neighborhood.

25 July, The World Bank says that 70% of Palestinians live on less than $2 a day and that 21% of children under five years suffer malnutrition and 45% from anemia.

27 July, After a meeting with Palestinian Authority Finance Min. Salam Fayyad, Director-General of the Israeli Finance Minister, Ohad Marani, announces that NIS 70 million of frozen Palestinian tax money will be transferred to a Palestinian Authority bank account under the exclusive control of Fayyad to ensure the money will be used to improve the situation of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinan Territory.

29 July, In Nablus, thousands of Palestinians fill the streets, and shops, banks and offices open for the second day of the largest demonstration yet against the Israeli curfew confining residents to their homes.Nablus governor Mohammed Aloul calls on residents of other towns to ignore the now 40-day curfew and restore normal life

14 August, The Israeli State Attorney’s Office submits an indictment against Marwan Barghouti

.

18 August, At a Tel Aviv hotel, Israel, led by Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer, and the Palestinian Authority, led by Interior Minister Abdel Razeq Al-Yahya and Mohammed Dahlan reach a deal on “Gaza-Bethlehem first”, under which Israeli occupying forces are to begin withdrawing from Bethlehem and parts of the Gaza Strip.

20 August, Palestinian police are back on the streets ofBethlehem after Israeli occupying forces withdrew as part of a trial that could lead to further Israeli withdrawals in the West Bank .

22 August, New Palestinian Census Bureau of Statistics data shows that some 366,000 Palestinians (44.7% of the work force) were unemployed in the second quarter of 2002. Those with work, 59.2% earned a salary that put them below the poverty line,NIS 1,642 per month for a family of six.

25 August, Members of Palestinian political factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, meet in Gaza City and declare a unilateral ceasefire, to help form the basis of renewed peace negotiations with the Israelis.

2 September, In a landmark decision,Israel ’s Supreme Court rules that Israel can expel relatives of Palestinian “terror suspects” from the West Bank to Gaza , if it proves they pose a security threat.\

11 September, President Arafat signs a decree determining that presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 20 Jan. 2003.

21 September, The Israeli occupying forces have demolished four of the five main buildings of the Muqata’a and 11 caravans. President Arafat, a few aides and 19 men are confined to the remaining building’s second floor.

24 September, The UN Security Council votes 14-0, the US delegation abstains, adopting resolution 1435, demanding that Israel halts its actions at the Muqata’a.

28 September, Thousands of Palestinians march in theWest Bank and Gaza Strip to commemorate the Intifada’s 2nd anniversary.

29 September, Responding toUS pressure, Israel withdraws its forces from the Muqata’a after 11 days of holding President Arafat hostage and bombarding his headquarters.

2 October, UNICEF special representative in the region, Pierre Poupard, issues a statement saying that “A generation of Palestinian children is being denied their right to an education” as over 226,000 school children out of one million in the West Bank, and 9,300 teachers are denied access to their schools. In addition, at least 580 schools have been closed due to Israeli occupying forces policies, curfews and closures.

2 October, In a dangerous reversal,Israel , the occupying Power, has deployed its forces back to positions in close proximity to the headquarters of the President of the Palestinian Authority in the City of Ramallah . Israeli occupying forces, including snipers, took positions on the roofs of two eight-story civilian buildings, one only 500 yards away from the headquarters.

7 October, Israeli troops raid Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis, and surround the home of Hamas member Araf Salameh. The operation includes firing a missile that kills 14 Palestinians and wounds dozens more. The EU condemns the operation, while the US State Dept. says it was “deeply troubled” by raids that killed civilians.

7 October, Under US pressure Israel has released NIS 70 million, the last payment out of NIS 200 million it agreed to hand over to the Palestinian Authority after Arafat installed Salam Fayyad as Finance Minister.

17 October, In Rafah, Israeli shelling kills eight Palestinians, mostly civilians, including two women and two children, and wounds at least 37 others, mostly schoolchildren. An UNRWA school and several houses are also damaged.

25 October,Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has given his approval “in principle” but with 13 reservations to the latest US ‘roadmap for peace’ presented by envoy William Burns, which calls for dismantling Jewish settlement outposts, thorough Palestinian Authority reforms, and the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

26 October, The Palestinain Authority has expressed reservations to the US ‘roadmap’ for peace, saying an immediate freeze to settlement construction was necessary as were international monitors to be sent to the region.

29 October, The PLC approves with 56 to 18 the new 19-member cabinet (proposed by PA Chairman Arafat

).

30 October, The Labor Party leaves the national unity government as Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer hands in letter of resignation after a meeting between him and Prime Minister Sharon on a compromise deal over Labor’s demand that funding to settlements be reallocated to the weaker sectors of society the meeting ends without a deal.

4 November, An official cease-fire directive has been passed to all Fatah offices in theWest Bank by the head of the counter-security mechanism, Zuheir Manasra, stating: “In accordance with the instructions of President Yasser Arafat, all activists who belong to the Fatah movement, politicians and military personnel, are strictly forbidden to open fire for any reason whatsoever.”

4 November, In Gaza, Israeli occupying forces kill six Palestinians, five of them unarmed, in four separate incidents.

20 December, The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupying forces since 28 September 2000 tragically surpassed 2,000 martyrs. These Palestinian martyrs have included men, women, children and elderly.

2003 :

28 January, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is re-elected for a second term.

19 March, Mahmoud Abbas is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.

15 May, The 55th anniversary of Al-Nakba, the day the Palestinian people were uprooted from their homeland in 1948 amidst massacres, destruction and the devastation of war, was commemorated.

6 September, Mahmoud Abbas resigns as Prime Minister.

11 September, The occupyingPower, Israel, at its security cabinet meeting decided to “remove Yasser Arafat” and asked the Israeli occupying forces to draw up a plan for the expulsion of the elected President of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli occupying forces seized positions in the Palestinian Ministry of Culture directly adjacent to the compound of President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.

14 October, U.S vetoes Security Council resolution that stated “the construction byIsrael , the occupying Power, of a Wall in the Occupied Territories departing from the armistice line of 1949 is illegal under relevant provisions of international law and must be ceased and reverse.”

19 November, UN Security Council passes resolution 1515 in support for the Road Map for Peace and the two-State solution.

3 December, UN General Assembly meets in Emergency Session to adopt Resolution ES-10/14 asking the International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of the Israeli wall in the West Bank and to urgently render an advisory opinion on: “the legal consequences arising from the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem.

29 December, 2,698 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since 28 September 2000.

2004 :

3 February, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his "Disengagement Plan" in an interview with Ha'aretz: "It is my intention to carry out an evacuation--sorry, a relocation--of settlements that causes us problems and of places that we will not hold on to anyway in a final settlement, like the Gaza settlements."

11 February, At least 12 Palestinians were killed by the occupying forces during this military assault in theGaza strip, including Mr. Hani Mahmoud Abu Skhaila, a Hamas leader, who had been previously targeted for assassination by the occupying forces.

24 February, The International Court of Justice begins hearings on the legal consequences ofIsrael ’s Wall which departs for the 1949 Armistice line (Green Line) between Israel and the occupied West Bank.

22 March,Israel assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City . More than 15 people, including children, were wounded as a result of the attack.

19 April, Less than four weeks after the extrajudicial execution of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin inGaza City, the Israeli occupying forces assassinated Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi, a political leader of Hamas in Gaza.

16-18 May, 88 homes have been completely destroyed in Rafah by Israeli occupying forces. As a result of this onslaught, more than 1,100 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, have been made homeless.

19 May, The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1544 in response to the demolitions of homes in Rafah, calling on Israel to abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians Persons in Time of War and insists in particular, on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law.”

19 May, Immediately after the adoption of resolution 1544, the Israeli occupying forces continued destroying even more homes and properties in the Rafah area, including the zoo in Rafah as well as greenhouses, irrigation systems, agricultural land and dozens of vehicles.

20 May, Since the beginning of this month, the Israeli occupying forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians, including children, and have destroyed more than 190 homes, rendering more than 2,000 more Palestinians homeless, further exacerbating the political and humanitarian crisis.

6 June,Israel sentences Marwan Barghouti to to five consecutive life terms in an Israeli prison plus forty years.

9 July, The International Court of Justice, in its Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the Wall being built by Israel rules that “Israel is under an obligation to terminate its breaches of international law; it is under an obligation to cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall being built in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, to dismantle forthwith the structure therein situated, and to repeal or render ineffective forthwith all legislative and regulatory acts…”

20 July, The General Assembly in resolution ES-10/15, acknowledges the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in theOccupied Palestinian Territory , including in and around East Jerusalem . ES-10/15 demands that Israel , the occupying Power, comply with its legal obligations as mentioned in the Advisory Opinion; namely for the establishment of a register of damages caused by the construction of the Wall for the purpose of reparations.

15 August, more than 2000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees being held in Israeli jails take part in a massive series of hunger strikes to protest the gross and systematic violations of their rights and the deplorable living conditions under which they are being detained.

24 August, The Israeli government approved the construction of another 600 housing units in the “Maale Adumim” settlement, located east of Jerusalem and the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and declared plans to establish a new settlement of thousands of units in an area north of Jerusalem in order to connect these areas with the “Maale Adumim” settlement. Israeli officials have also announced plans for expansion of even more settlements in theOccupied Palestinian Territory . Prime Minister Sharon issued tenders for the building of 1,001 settlements units and announcements were made regarding plans to issue tenders for 633 more units. The occupying Power also declared that it was “rezoning” land for another 533 settlement units in the Jerusalem area, bringing just this week’s total for planned expansion to an additional 2,167 settlement units in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

8 October, In an interview to Haaretz, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mr. Dov Weisglass, stated regarded the so-called disengagement plan fromGaza “The disengagement is actually formaldehyde. It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians.” Moreover, in reference to the exact purpose of the disengagement plan, Weisglass stated, “The significance is the freezing of the political process. And when you freeze that process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and you prevent a discussion on the refugees, the borders andJerusalem. Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And all of this with authority and permission. All with a presidential blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress.”

29 September, the Israeli occupying forces carry out a wide-scale military attack lasting for over three weeks, killing at least 150 Palestinians, including women and children, in theOccupied Palestinian Territory.

29 October, President Arafat flies toParis to seek urgent medical treatment after two and one half years of imprisonment by Israel in Al-Muqata’a.

11 November, President Arafat dies in aParis military hospital.

14 November, A state funeral is held for late President Arafat inCairo where numerous of heads of state and government attend. After Israel refused to allow the late president’s remains to be buried in Occupied East Jerusalem, his coffin is flown to Al-Muqata’a in Ramallah by Egyptian helicopters where hundreds of thousands of mourning Palestinians attended.

30 December, 3,552 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since 28 September 2000.

2005 :

4 January, The occupying forces fired tank shells at a farming area inGaza , killing seven Palestinians, six children from the same family.

4 January, The intentions of the occupying Power to continue seizing Palestinian land and incorporating illegal settlements on the western side of the expansionist Wall were revealed. A proposed revised route of the Wall in the southern West Bank will encompass the illegal “Gush Etzion” settlement bloc and will result in the isolation of nearly 18,000 Palestinians on the western side of the Wall, separating their four villages from the rest of theWest Bank.

9 January, Mahmoud Abbas is elected President of the Palestinian Authority in free, fair and democratic elections supervised by International monitors.

26 January, the occupying Power resumed construction of a section of the Wall, despite the ICJ Advisory Opinion, by the illegal settlement of “Ariel”, which is located 12 miles deep into theWest Bank.

8 February, A truce is reached in Sharm El-Sheikh calling on all sides to end violence.

21 March, the Israeli government confirmed its approval of plans to build 3,500 more housing units in the “Maale Adumim” settlement, the largest illegal Israeli settlement located east ofJerusalem in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

15 April,Israel , the occupying Power, continues to commit extrajudicial killings of Palestinian civilians in grave breach of international law, including international humanitarian law, and in deliberate violation of the truce reached in Sharm El-Sheikh on 8 February.

The Israeli occupying forces shot and killed Mr. Ibrahim Hashash El-Sumari in the Balata refugee camp in the city of Nablus.

26 May, President Mahmoud Abbas visits George W. Bush in the White House to discuss the “road map for peace”.

6 June, The Qalandiya checkpoint, which has been erected in the center of theWest Bank in a densely populated Palestinian civilian area and parallel to which the route of the Wall is being carved. It is reported that Israel plans to transform the Qalandiya checkpoint into a border crossing - similar to an international gateway or crossing point - for the tens of thousands of Palestinians that cross it each day. Israel has accelerated work in an area a few meters east of the Qalandiya checkpoint to prepare for the construction of a compound or installation that will separate the northern and southern parts of the West Bank and separate Jerusalem and its surrounding towns and villages from the Ramallah area.

15 August,Israel unilaterally removes all twelve settlements from Gaza and four from the West Bank but maintains its control over the borders, airspace, sea port, maintaining its occupation of Gaza.

17 August, in the northernWest Bank near the illegal Israeli settlement of “Shilo”, an illegal settler grabbed a gun from an Israeli security guard at knifepoint and then opened fire from close range, brutally killing four innocent Palestinian civilians with absolute impunity.

17 August, Illegal Israeli settlers, currently number more than 400,000 throughout theOccupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

17 October, Mr. James Wolfensohn, the Middle East Quartet’s Special Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement wrote a letter to the members of the Quartet, Mr. Wolfensohn criticized Israel for behaving as if it has not withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, by blocking its borders and failing to fulfill commitments to allow the movement of Palestinians and goods.

21 November, the Israel political party Kadima was formed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

8 December, 3,804 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since September 2000.

2006 :

2 January, the Government of Israel announced its plans to construct a new illegal settlement in theOccupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, namely in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank.

4 January, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffers a massive stroke leaving the leadership ofIsrael and the new Kadima party in the hands of Ehud Olmert.

26 January, Hamas wins parliamentary elections in theWest Bank and Gaza and is democratically elected to head up the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.

30 January, The Quartet issues a statement that all members of a future Palestinian Government must be committed to non-violence, recognition ofIsrael, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map.

5 April, The occupying forces fired missiles into the compound of the President of the Palestinian Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas.

5 May, The U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a “rapid decline” and “possible collapse” of the public health system in theWest Bank and Gaza Strip if the crisis continues as Israel closes border crossings into the Occupied Palestinian Territory from humanitarian aid and imports and exports.

2 June, The Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) is established to by-pass the democratically elected Palestinian Authority. The situation of the Palestinian people deteriorate as a result of the international boycott of the elected Palestinian Authority government. It is funded by the European Commission, EU Member States, and other donors.

Israel also withholds tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority violating the Paris protocol agreed between the parties.

8 June, In a naval gunboat attack, Israeli occupying forces kill an entire family while picnicking at the beach inGaza . The attack resulted in the killing of three small children, three women and one man.

25 June, Israel, the occupying Power, bombed the only power station by air missile strike, cutting off electricity to the majority of the more than 1.3 million Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and cutting off water supplies to the civilian population as well, and has also bombed at least three bridges and a gasoline reservoir in the area.

31 June, Since the beginning of the month of June, at least 49 civilians, including 8 children, have been killed as a result of the excessive and indiscriminate use of force by the occupying Power in the Gaza Strip

12 July, The second Israel-Lebanon war begins .

20 August, Israeli occupying forces kidnapped the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr. Mahmoud Al-Ramahi, raising the number of democratically elected officials who have been kidnapped byIsrael, the occupying Power over the past month to thirty.

8 November, Israeli occupying forces shelled a residential neighborhood with 12 missiles in the town ofBeit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 19 civilians and wounding at least 54. These civilians were shelled during their sleep and while they where fleeing the shelling in the neighborhood of Al-Kafarneh, where 2 homes were specifically targeted. The victims included 16 members of one family, Al-Athamneh, including a one-month old baby, a one-year-old baby girl, 7 children and 6 women.

21 December 4,444 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces, since 28 September 2000.

23 December, Meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas; Prime Minister Olmert promises to improve quality of life for Palestinians and remove checkpoints, but in practice no real changes occurred.

2007 :

14 January, President Abbas informs US Secretary of State Rice that the Palestinian leadership rejects a state with temporary borders.

18 March, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the formation of the national unity government is a positive development. Yet,Israel and the United States decide to continue its boycott of the Palestinian government.

10 April, The US Congress ratifies $60 million in assistance to the Palestinian security.

12 April,Norway announces resumption of direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority, first country to do so since the boycott.

15 April, A meeting between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert take place amid Israeli promises to remove checkpoints in theWest Bank.

30 April, Palestinian Census Beauru of Statistics reports that the rate of unemployment in theOccupied Palestinian Territory is 23.6%.

4 May,Israel rejects a US plan on providing freedom of movement for the Palestinians in exchange for security.

8 May, The World Bank reports that sustainable revival of Palestinian economy is impossible in light of the current Israeli restriction system in theWest Bank.

10 May, Israeli officials declare a plan to build three settlement quarters in occupiedEast Jerusalem, including the construction of 20,000 new housing units.

31 May, British university professors announce the boycott of Israeli universities as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

6 June, The 40th year of the Israeli military occupation which began in 1967 of Palestinian land, includingEast Jerusalem is marked.

14 June, Hamas takes overGaza and President Mahmoud Abbas dissolves the government and the power sharing agreement between Fatah and Hamas.

15 June, Salam Fayyad is commissioned by the President to form an emergency government.

15 June,Israel closes all crossings with Gaza Strip, enclosing 1.5 Million Palestinians in an open air prison.

17 June, the emergency government is sworn in before President Abbas.

18 June, The US andEurope officially announce the resumption of assistance to the new government and an end to the siege and sanctions. Israel expresses readiness to transfer $600 million to the new government.

26 June, A Presidential decree is issued banning all armed militias.

27 June, The Quartet Committee appoints Tony Blair as its envoy and defines his job within the limits of mobilizing international support to meet the needs of the Palestinians.

4 July, BBC Journalist Alan Johnston is freed.

9 July, A UN report reveals that 80% of the Wall is built onoccupied West Bank lands.

6 August, A summit between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert takes place as both leaders agree on intensifying talks on the basic issues before the international conference.

9 August, UNRWA warns of a total collapse of the economy in Gaza Strip.

11 August, Palestinian police officers are deployed inNablus.

11 August, President Abbas issues a decision to adopt full proportional representation in the PLO institutions elections.

13 August, The Palestinian security forces start work in “B” and “C” areas in theWest Bank.

17 August, The Gaza Power Station stops producing 75% of its capacity because ofIsrael's ban of fuel entry to Gaza Strip.

25 August, President Abbas rejects the idea of population exchange, Palestinian citizens ofIsrael in exchange for illegal settler communities.

26 August,Israel opens six roads to serve the settlers only in the heart of the West Bank.

28 August, President Abbas says that any agreement to be reached withIsrael will be presented in a referendum to the Palestinian people.

7 September, Israeli Minister Ramon presents a plan for the permanent solution with the Wall as the borders of the Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority quickly rejected this plan and reaffirmed relevant Security Council resolutions as well as the Forth Geneva Convention.

10 September, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert agree in a meeting to form negotiations teams.

19 September, Israeli authorities declareGaza a “Hostile Entity”.

1 October,Israel releases 57 prisoners to the West Bank and 29 prisoners to the Gaza Strip. There are still 11,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails including women and children.

9 October,Israel confiscates 1,100 dunums around Jerusalem.

11 October,Israel announces a freeze of construction in some West Bank settlements, but never follows through.

14 October,Israel announces continuation of digging works at al-Maghariba Gate in East Jerusalem.

14 October, Prime Minister Olmert appoints Foreign Minister Livni as head of the Israeli Negotiating Team and refuses to set up a timetable.

15 October, President Abbas meets with US Secretary of State Rice amid disagreement over the need for a timetable.

17 October,US Secretary of State Rice visits the Holy Places in Bethlehem after difficult talks with President Abbas in Ramallah.

17 October, A plan is revealed that is detailed by Quartet Envoy Blair, including removal of checkpoints and establishment of a city near Ramallah and industrial zones in Jalameh and Tarqoumia.

26 October, According to United Nations agencies, some 70,000 people have lost their jobs and nearly 90% percent of the population inGaza now lives below the official poverty line.

30 October, President Abbas declaires that “We will not make any concession at Annapolis Conference and there won’t be any Arab or Islamic normalization withIsrael before implementing the just solution.”

30 October, Prime Minister Fayyad, Defense Minister Barak andUS General Dayton form a committee to follow up implementation of the first part of the roadmap.

1 November, Israeli excavation continues south of al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

3 November, OCHA reports that there are 561 checkpoints and barriers in theWest Bank.

11 November, A negotiation session is canceled after an Israeli checkpoint prevented Ahmad Qurei’ from reachingJerusalem.

14 November,Israel announces its intention to freeze settlements with the exception of construction in the major settlement blocs.

5 January, A tour of the Middle East byUS President Bush apparently fails to achieve support for US Middle East policy goals. However, Israelis and Palestinians pledge to negotiate seriously regarding “core issues” such as Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Israeli government issues contradictory declarations regarding status of a building freeze in West Bank settlements and areas of East Jerusalem .

15 January 2008, the Israeli occupying forces launched a large-scale attack against civilian areas inGaza City , targeting Al-Zaitun and Al-Shujaiya neighborhoods of the city. Occupying forces in tanks, armored vehicles and bulldozers raged through the area under the cover of helicopter gun-ships and war planes, killing at least 19 Palestinians, including a 65-year old man. 50 other Palestinians were injured in the attacks, including an 8 year-old boy who has been critically wounded, and many of the wounded now in Gaza ’s over-burdened hospitals are reported to have lost limbs in the onslaught.

20 January, After Israel cutsGaza fuel supplies, the Gaza power plant could only supply about 20% of Gaza ’s electricity, the plant is subsequently shut down precipitating condemnation of Israel and international outcry.

23 January, The Gaza/Rafah crossing is breached by hundreds of thousands of Gazans desperately needing to enterEgypt for basic necessities due to Israel ’s siege on the Strip.

3 March, In four days over 125 Palestinians are killed inGaza by the Israeli occupation forces.

3 March, The UN Security Council fails to adopt any tangible agreement to end the onslaught.

11 March, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s approves construction of 750 new units in the “Givat Ze’ev” settlement north ofEast Jerusalem . Plans for 400 new settlement units in the Nabi Ya’coub neighborhood in East Jerusalem were also recently declared.

15 May,

21,900 black balloons are released in East Jerusalem, each balloon symbolized each day since al -Nakba, the balloons contained letters of peace from Palestinian children.

15 May, The 60th year of al-Nakba is commemorated around the world.

19 June,Israel and Hamas enter into truce.

26 August, the NGO Peace Now reports that West Bank settlement construction nearly doubly this year. More than 2,600 housing units including 1,000 new buildings are under construction.

27 September, a group of armed Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian shepherds tending to their flocks in an area of south of Nablus, near the illegal Israeli settlement of “Itamar”. The settlers killed a young Palestinian, Yehya Bani Meniya, whose bullet-ridden body was only recovered by his family after a several hour search near the “Itamar” settlement.

18 October, Israeli settlers descended upon Palestinian olive harvesters in Tal Al-Rumeidah near Al-Khalil (Hebron). As Israeli soldiers looked on, the settlers attacked the harvesters and also attacked foreign peace activists who had come to provide protection to the farmers and journalists and photographers in the area, beating and injuring several of them.

4 November, in the Gaza Strip a number of Israeli tanks entered an area east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, launching intensive shelling as well as gunfire towards civilian houses. The indiscriminate Israeli shelling killed Mazen Saada and injured four others, including one woman. The Israeli occupying forces also destroyed two houses during the invasion and abducted seven civilians, including four women. At the same time, Israeli warplanes launched several strikes east of Deir Al-Balah, killing six Palestinians and injuring several others.

5 November, the occupying Power , Israel , demolished four homes in East Jerusalem , three in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, and another home in Shu’fat. During these illegal demolitions, the Israeli occupying forces injured at least seven Palestinian civilians. Simultaneously, Israel continues to pursue its escalating, illegal campaign of settlement construction and expansion in and around East Jerusalem .

16 November, Israeli Minister Shaul Mofaz publicly called for the intensification ofIsrael ’s illegal campaign of extra-judicial assassinations and continuation of this campaign as an official component of Israeli policy. Further, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon has shamelessly called for cutting off electricity and water supplies to Gaza 's 1.5 million residents.

4 December, Israeli settlers burned a number of Palestinian homes in the old city ofAl-Khalil and injured scores of Palestinian civilians in the area in an act of revenge for evacuating them from Palestinians homes in the Old City that they illegally took over.

14 December, Professor Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, was denied entry by the Government of Israel on his way to theWest Bankto carry out his UN functions in accordance with his mandate. He was deported fromBenGurionAirportin Tel Aviv that morning, after spending the night at the airport.

27 December,Israel, the occupying Power, unleashed a deadly rampage in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over 200 Palestinians, with many innocent children and women among the dead and wounded. This would mark the begining of the 22-day onsaught of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

29 December, For three days, Israeli fighter jets have pounded hundreds of locations across the Gaza Strip, killing over three hundred Palestinians and injuring almost 1500 others. Gaza is no longer on the brink of disaster; it is living that disaster, which Israel, the occupying Power, has imposed on one and a half million Palestinians it has imprisoned, starved, and tormented in Gaza under false and sinister pretexts.

2009:

2 January, over the past six days,Israel, the occupying Power, has repeatedly and deliberately targeted civilian areas and objects in the Gaza Strip in grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The total numbers of casualties thus far have reached over 428 persons killed and 2,200 persons injured.

5 January, In less than ten days,Israel’s excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force has brutally killed more than 500 Palestinians, including 107 children and 37 women. The tragic and continuous climb in the number of casualties is reflective ofIsrael's ongoing bloody onslaught against the Palestinian population in the Occupied Gaza Strip, in complete disregard and violation of all norms and rules of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

8 January, the United Nations Security Council took an important step towards upholding its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security vis-à-vis the question ofPalestine. After nearly two weeks of incessant calls upon the Council to act to address the crisis and suffering being endured by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and after a long series of intensive meetings and consultations, including at the Ministerial level, the Council adopted resolution 1860 (2009), which, among many important provisions, calls in the immediate stage for “an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire” and “the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including food, fuel and medical treatment”.

By now, more than 800 Palestinians have been killed by the occupying forces, including at least 260 children, and more than 3,300 Palestinians have been injured, including more than 1,000 children.

11 January, during the declared three-hour lull in fighting, Israeli strikes killed 14 Palestinians, including an infant. Several Israeli artillery shells were fired on different parts of the Gaza Strip in quick succession. Israeli drones also fired a missile near the homes of Al-Karama compound, killing four, including three members of the same family.

12 January, Israeli warplanes hit dozens of homes on the northern, eastern and southern borders ofGazaCity, resulting in the death of nine Palestinians, including two children and two women. Families living in the most targeted neighbourhoods on the edges ofGazaCityhave been appealing to paramedics and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for rescue.

On the 17th day ofIsrael’s bloody aggression on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians and all those who value human life mourn the death of at least 905 Palestinians and pray for the recovery of at least 4,100 Palestinians, half of whom are women and children.

12 January, UNHRC 9th special session Adopt resolution A/HRC/S-9/1 in which it "Decides to dispatch an urgent, independent international fact-finding mission"

14 January, 19 days of Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 1000 Palestinians, including 400 children and women and injured nearly 5000 Palestinians, about 400 of them are in very critical condition. Israel 's war machine has spared no one and nothing; not a corner in the Gaza Strip has been spared from this destructive campaign and as we tally the toll of this war.

2 February, by the end of the 22-day Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip more than 1,300 Palestinians were brutally killed and at least 5,500 Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli occupying forces. Using all means of military weaponry, the occupying Power deliberately unleashed excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate force against the defenseless civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

18 February, Israeli authorities to confiscate 1700 dunums of privately-owned Palestinian land for the purpose of connecting illegal settlements in Al-Khalil ( Hebron) with illegal settlements in the area of Occupied East Jerusalem. The confiscation of the land, which belongs to Palestinians from the villages of Khader, Beit Fajar, Irtas, Um Salamonah, Idrahal and the city of Bethlehem, which is located just west of the “Efrat” settlement, would effectively completeIsrael’s attempts to sever theWest Bankinto two separate, disconnected parts.

3 March, the occupying Power issued 55 demolition orders against Palestinian homes, this time specifically targeting homes located in the Shu’fat refugee camp area of Occupied East Jerusalem.

5 March, the occupying Power issued demolition orders against 36 Palestinian families living in two buildings in Al-Abbasiyya quarter in the Silwan neighbourhood of Occupied East Jerusalem, declaring that the families had 10 days to evacuate their homes.

23 March, General Kamal Naji (known as Kamal Midhat), Deputy Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon and a prominent Palestinian leader, was assassinated in a deliberate, violent attack that claimed his life and that of three other PLO officials accompanying him and seriously injured several other people outside the Palestinian refugee camp Miyeh Miyeh, close to the city of Sidon in Lebanon when a roadside bomb was detonated.

8 April,armed Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of “Beit Ein”, went on a rampage against Palestinian civilians in the village of Khirbat Safa , north of Al-Khalil ( Hebron ). The early morning attack, during which settlers fired indiscriminately on Palestinian homes and civilians, left at least 38 Palestinians injured, including one critically, Tha’er Nasser Aadi, 18 years old, who is now in hospital struggling for his life after being shot in the neck.

12 April, the occupying Power allowed at least 50 extremist settlers to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary).

26 April, the occupying Power approved the illegal confiscation of twelve thousand dunums of Palestinian land to facilitate the construction of six thousand new housing units in the illegal Israeli settlement of“Maale Adumim”.

4 May, The Fact Finding Mission convened for the first time on inGeneva.

18 May, Israel announced twenty tenders for construction in a new illegal Israeli settlement called “Maskiot” in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank . This new illegal settlement, which would replace or be an extension of a military base, provides further evidence that settlement construction and expansion is indeed an official Israeli policy aimed at creating facts on the ground that strip Palestinians of their land and water resources.

28 May, a group of Israeli settlers attacked two elderly Palestinian farmers, Abdallah Wahadin, aged 82, and Hammad Wahadin, aged 72, in Beit Ummar, near the city of Al-Khalil ( Hebron ), as they were farming their groves.

28 May, it was reported that leading rabbis linked to the Israeli settlement movement had issued calls upon soldiers in the occupying forces to disobey any orders to evacuate and dismantle “outposts”.

1 June, First field visit by Fact Finding Mission Members to the Gaza Strip from 1-5 June 2009.

3 June, a group of Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian fields in an area in the northern West Bank , destroying at least 30 olive trees, an essential source of income and agricultural product for Palestinian families.

5 June, Israeli occupying forces killed a Palestinian man, Yousef Aqil Srour, aged 35, when they opened fire on a demonstration by civilians against the continuing construction of the Wall in village of Ni’lin, where weekly protests have been held against Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian land and its construction of the Wall in the village in deviation of the 1967 Green Line. Several Palestinians have been killed and by the occupying forces and dozens of people, including international peace activists, have been injured, many critically, in similar protests against the Wall.

10 June, 100 demolition orders were served to Palestinian families in Al-Bustan neighborhood of Occupied East Jerusalem, leading to violent clashes between the occupying forces and the neighborhood’s residents who were protesting the demolition orders.

23 June, it was revealed that the Israeli Defense Minister had approved the construction of 300 new units in the “Talmon” settlement.

26 Jun, a declaration was issued regarding the intention to expropriate another 2% of West Bank land, amounting to more than 138,000 dunums (34,600 acres) of Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley area.

28 -29 June, The Fact Finding Mission held public hearings in Gaza which included victims and experts.

29 June, it was reported that Israel had approved the construction of another 50 units in the “Adam” settlement, north of Occupied East Jerusalem, in order to “re-settle” settlers to be removed from the nearby “Migron outpost”. These new units are also reported to be part of a larger plan to construct at least another 1,400 units in the settlement.

1 July, demolition orders were issued to another seven Palestinian families in Occupied East Jerusalem, in the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood of Silwan, a day after the demolition of a Palestinian home on the Mount of Olives rendered another 15 Palestinians homeless and resulted in the injury of several civilians by the occupying forces.

1 July, dozens of Israeli settlers took over farmland in the Kafr Al-Labad village near the city of Tulkarem , erecting tents there with the intention of establishing yet another illegal so-called settlement “outpost”.

6-7 July, The Fact Finding Mission held public hearings inGenevavia video conference for victims and experts from West Bank andIsrael.

2 August,at 5:00 am Palestine time and in the presence of dozens of peace activists and demonstrators, the occupying forces forcibly entered the homes of the Ghawi and Hanoun families and removed their belongings and expelled over 50 people, including 19 children, from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

27 September, in Occupied East Jerusalem at the sacred compound of Al-Haram Al-Sharif. The Israeli occupying forces attacked Palestinian worshipers at Al-Haram Al-Sharif after midday prayers as they attempted to fend off over 150 Israeli extremists from breaking into the Holy Compound under the watch and guard of the occupying forces.

29 September, The Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission was submitted and presented to the UNHRC during its 12th Session.

1 October, the draft resolution (A/HRC/12/L.12) on the "Goldstone report" was deferred for consideration by the UNHRC at its 13th session.

4 October, the occupying Power once again used excessive force in repressing Palestinian worshipers trying to defend Al-Haram Al-Sharif and Al-Aqsa mosque from incursions by extremist and militant Israeli settlers, who repeated threats continue to incite further extremism and provoke an already volatile situation.

13 October, Israeli occupying forces forcibly evicted a Palestinian family from their home in Beit Hanina, in occupied East Jerusalem , before demolishing it.

14 October, The Security Council held an open debate to address the critical finding of the "Goldstone Report".

16 October, the 12th special session of UNHRC adopts resolution A/HRC/S-12/1, that calls endorses the recommendations contained in the "Goldstone Report" and calls on their implementation.

25 October, the Israeli occupying forces stormed Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound and fired stun grenades, tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian worshipers. The Israeli attack resulted in the injury of at least 30 civilians and the detention of 20 others, including Mr.Hatim Abdul Qader, the former Palestinian Authority Minister of Jerusalem affairs.

26 October, displacing 26 civilians, including ten children. This brings to over 600 the number of Palestinians displaced by the occupying Power in Occupied East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year through its illegal policies of forced eviction and house demolition.

5 November, The General Assembly adopts resolution A/RES/64/10 on implementing the "Goldstone Report" findings, and carry out independent investigations.

17 November, Israel , the occupying Power, approved the construction of 900 more new settlement housing units in the illegal settlement of “Gilo”, south of Occupied East Jerusalem.

3 December, the Secretary-General sent notes verbales to the concerned parties on the implementation of GA resolution A/Res/64/10.

11 December, in thevillageofYasufnear the city ofNablus, where extremist settlers committed arson in a mosque. Settlers entered the village in the pre-dawn hours and set fire to prayer rugs and Korans and other religious books inside the mosque and wrote graffiti on the floor.

29 December, Israel’s Defense Ministry approved plans to legalize the construction of 15 permanent structures being built in the illegal Israeli settlement of ‘Kiryat Netafim’ in the Occupied West Bank on private lands owned by Palestinians.

2010:

8 February, at 1:00 amPalestine time, Israeli occupying forces raided the Ramallah office of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement Construction, ransacking the Committee’s office and confiscating its equipment, archives and property.

22 February, Israeli Prime Minisiter Netanyahu announced Israel was adding religious sites of historical and religious significance in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to its so-called list of national heritage sites, the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil ( Hebron) and the site of Bilal’s Mosque in Bethlehem (Rachel’s Tomb) along with the Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

26 February, a new project to build 600 settlement units on illegally confiscated Palestinian land near the neighborhood of Shu’fat. Moreover, dozens more home demolition notifications have been served to Palestinian families living in Al-Bustan and the Al-Abbassia areas in the neighborhood of Silwan, and plans have also been revealed for the seizure of Palestinian land in Sheikh Jarrah to build a “car park” for illegal settlers.

10 March, On the eve of US Vice President Biden’s visit to the region, the Israeli government announced the approval for construction of 1600 new settlement units in the illegal settlement of “Ramat Shlomo” in Occupied East Jerusalem, constituting one of the largest construction projects of illegal settlements inJerusalem in recent years.

18 March, Israeli occupation authorities approved the construction of 20 new settlement units in Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood in Occupied East Jerusalem.

20 March, 1,000 days since the beginning of the Israeli blockade againstGaza , the socio-economic situation of the Palestinian civilian population remains dire, with the blockade adversely impacting the viability of all aspects of life. Economic, health, education and other societal indicators reveal the magnitude of the humanitarian suffering that has been deliberately inflicted by the occupying Power on the Palestinian civilian population in what definitely constitutes collective punishment on a scale of a war crime.

20 March, the occupying forces shot at civilians in thevillage of Iraq Buren who were participating in a demonstration against ongoing Israeli colonization measures, rampant Israeli settler violence and harassment, and imposed restrictions on access by Palestinian civilians to their farmlands in the area. Two Palestinian boys were shot by the occupying forces, receiving wounds to the head and chest. Both victims, ages 16 and 17, Mohammad Qadous and Osayed Qadous, died of their wounds. This was followed by the Israeli killing of another two Palestinian youths, Mohammad Faisal Qawariq and Salah Mohammad Qawariq, both age 19 and cousins, in the village of A’wrta on 21 March.

28 March, scores of peace activists were joined by Christian community leaders and political officials in a protest march against illegal Israeli restrictions imposed on Palestinian Christians that are once again obstructing their access to their Holy Places in Occupied East Jerusalem this Easter holiday.

12 April, a new Israeli military order was revealed which would give the occupying forces unprecedented power to detain, imprison, and deport Palestinians in the West Bank that are deemed to be ‘infiltrating’ the Occupied Territory. This order (so-called military order “1650”) threatens the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians by the occupying Power from the West Bank under the pretext that they are ‘residing illegally’ in theOccupied Territory .

4 May, armed Israeli settlers entered a Palestinian village, Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiyya in the Occupied West Bank, which is surrounded by three illegal settlements of ‘Eli”, “Shilo” and Ma’ale Levona.” After entering the village, Israeli settlers broke into the only mosque in the village, setting it ablaze, destroying the building along with prayer rugs and a collection of Holy Qurans that had been deliberately arranged in two piles before being burned in the fire. As stated by President Mahmoud Abbas, this criminal act of setting a holy mosque ablaze “represents a threat to the efforts to revive the peace process.”

31 May, Israeli commandos attacked the Freedom Flotilla and killed nine civilian peace activists and wounded many others in this vicious, premeditated attack, which was launched against the ships in an area 72 nautical miles from the coast of the Gaza Strip. This illegal and deplorable Israeli military operation constitutes an explicitly act of piracy undertheUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and must be unequivocally condemned by the international community, including the Security Council.

1 June, Israeli warplanes and tanks invaded several areas withinGaza , resulting in the killing of five Palestinians. These latest Israeli military attacks signal an Israeli intention to reignite the cycle of violence and cause further suffering in an already devastated society, living a humanitarian disaster because of the punitive, inhumane siege that Israel , the occupying Power, has imposed on the Palestinian population in Gaza for more than 3 years.

1 July, Israeli Minister of Defense renewed an illegal order banning the head of the Islamic Higher Council inJerusalem , Dr. Ekrima Sabri, from entering Al-Aqsa Compound for an additional six months. This unjustified decision comes while Israeli authorities are intensifying their campaign against notable Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and as rights organizations reveal that Israeli government institutions, including the Ministry of Interior, are intensifying their efforts to renew home demolitions in the Occupied City on a massive scale.

13 July, several Palestinian families are searching for shelter this night after the Israeli occupying authorities demolished their homes in Occupied East Jerusalem. This has included the demolition of the home of Inam Al-Tawil in Al-Shayah neighborhood near Al-Sawahreh in Occupied East Jerusalem, a home that was built in 1996 and had never been fined. This illegal demolition of this home was carried out without warning or justification and, now, the 14 people, including 7 children, who had resided there, are homeless and risk being completely displaced from the City asIsrael pushes ahead with its attempts to cleanse the city of its indigenous Palestinian population.

18 July, a young Palestinian boy, Abdullah Al-Mohtasib, age 11, was hit by a settler on a speeding motorcycle in the Old City of Al-Khalil (Hebron ).

21 July, settlers stole sheep from a young Palestinian shepherd in thevillage of Tuba south of Al-Khalil (Hebron).

22 July, settlers set fire to olive trees in the Saffa village near Ramallah, burning more than 7 square kilometers of land and trees. When villagers and firefighters tried to put out the inferno, the Israeli occupying forces refused to allow them to access the land.

26 July, settlers stoned Palestinians near the West Bank city ofNablus and set fire to olive trees in an orchard in the Burin village.

29 July, settlers stormed a building Old City of East Jerusalem and evicted three Palestinian families from their homes, resulting in the displacement and homelessness of fifty people, including children.

30 July, settlers caused damage to a vegetable field in Um Al-Khair village in southern Al-Khalil (Hebron), slashed water pipes and destroyed fencing. The damaged field was the primary food and economic resource for the Bedouin families living there.

30 July, settlers attacked the Burin village, setting fire to land and trees and breaking into a home which was under construction and tried demolish it.

6 August, settlers set fire to hundreds of dunums of farmland in the northern West Bankvillage of Beit Furik . That same day, settlers n the Al-Buwayra area east of Al-Khalil ( Hebron ) attacked and assaulted a Palestinian woman, Suzan Sultan, age 51, causing multiple injuries to her head and body for which she required medical treatment. In addition, settlers attacked two international peace activists from Canada and Denmark who had been in Al-Buwayra, beating them with metal poles and wooden sticks and stealing their passports and cameras.

8 August, settlers attacked a Palestinian bus in an area near an illegal settlement south ofNablus , shattering the windows of the bus.

15 August, settlers in Al-Khalil (Hebron) attacked and beat a 10-year old Palestinian girl, Inas Mazen Qaaqour, who had to be hospitalized for treatment of her wounds. On that same day, an Israeli military jeep struck an 8-year old Palestinian boy also in Al-Khalil.

Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations
115 East 65th Street
New York, N.Y. 10065
Telephone: (212) 288-8500
Telefax: (212) 517-2377
e-mail: palestine@un.int